James Madison is moving to the American Athletic Conference, and the majority of our dear readers here at Mid-Major Madness seem to think it was a good idea.
The Dukes announced they’d depart the Fun/Sun Belt effect in July 2028. Not long after the move was announced, we asked what our audience thought of it and 69% of voters called it the right move.
James Madison had been a full member of the Sun Belt since its transition from FCS in 2022. The move, as we see nearly each time in the case of realignment, is fueled by those same football powers at be that influenced the move to FBS previously.
While the Sun Belt is no slouch, there are more monetary resources in the American Conference than in the Sun Belt.
The American, now at a whopping 15 members, houses some of the more readily recognizable mid-major programs, such as Wichita State, Memphis, Florida Atlantic, USF, and now James Madison.
Metrics-wise, NET and Ken Pomeroy place the American No. 10 and the Sun Belt at No. 20, respectively.
So, while the move has the first intention of uplifting the ever-rising James Madison football program, the basketball program, men’s and women’s both, can stand to benefit from the move.
And the Dukes seem to know that. Head coach Preston Spradlin noted the boost that hosting a program like Memphis brings to a schedule.
“It’s exciting,” Spradlin said to Shane Mettlen of the Daily News-Record. “To get teams like that to come here, it’s what our fanbase deserves. Because from a facility standpoint, we’re hanging in there with any league, to be honest with you. So that will be nice to get those teams in here, and it would be nice for our fans to really support it.”
League-wide, the American might be expanding again. Miami (OH) and UConn had reportedly contacted the American about possible memberships. Miami (OH) is, of course, a MACtion squad, and UConn was once a founding member of the American.
The move from James Madison also came just before the Sun Belt, according to The Athletic, was to vote on raising its exit fees.
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